1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for clarification of substantially aqueous fluids, such as process streams, and more particularly to separation of particulate materials from inorganic materials and mineral processing operations, such as processing of ores, clays, coal, as well as byproducts from metal and metal salt processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aqueous fluids are present in many industrial processing operations such as mining and mineral processing, for example, as aqueous streams containing dispersed solids that cannot be separated completely by simple sedimentation or filtration. The presence of the dispersed solids causes the fluids to be turbid, i. e., appear cloudy and/or opaque. Examples of such fluids include wastewaters from mining of ores, minerals, and precious metals, certain chemical processing plants, e. g., production of clays, alumina, pigments and paints, as well as polishing operations e. g., sheet metal and silicon wafers. Large volumes of aqueous fluids, many of which are turbid, are typically circulated through processing operations for these industries.
Problems associated with such fluids include corrosion and scaling of equipment, for example, pumping systems; loss of product values in the suspended solids; and low product quality due to poor solids removal. Such fluids may need to be treated prior to discharge from a plant or if the water content of the fluid is to be recycled.
Any aqueous fluid being discharged from a manufacturing plant to a public water system must meet local requirements. While there has been much attention devoted to the general area of wastewater treatment and, more specifically treatment of municipal wastewaters, such treatment methods may not be effective for industrial processing wastewaters in terms of cost or providing acceptable water quality. Therefore, there is a need for an efficient, cost-effective system to clarify wastewater fluids present in inorganic and mineral processing.